Bettingpro.com have put together a list of five key reasons why this may be the year when Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool end the 26-year run without a championship title in their locker.
1: Klopp factor
Take the most enthusiastic version of your football-loving self, most likely the days when you muddied your knees performing obscene slide tackles in your school trousers during a rain-soaked lunch break. Then grow-up thirty years, adopt a German accent, grow a beard, become a tactical mastermind and listen to heavy metal at full throttle on the way to work… then, and only then, will you have something that comes close to a fraction of Jurgen Klopp’s true value.
During seven years at Borussia Dortmund he won two Bundesliga titles and achieved a 56% win ratio. While the start to his Liverpool tenure was slow, he is beginning to demonstrate the precise qualities that got him the Reds job. Klopp is a modern voice in an ever-changing game in the UK, while rival managers like Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho – once considered game-changers – are becoming static in comparison.
2: Points per game average
Though there have been just seven Premier League games played so far, Liverpool are firmly in the title despite playing some of the toughest fixtures early on in the season. The Reds have banked five wins, 16 points and 18 goals already and, should they maintain this sort of form throughout the whole campaign then they will be hitting the 82-88 point range.
Leicester City won the 2015-16 Championship with 81 points, Chelsea took the trophy the season prior with 87 points. In the five seasons before, an 86 point average was enough to claim the title so, if Liverpool maintain their current momentum, they will be a clear challenger!
3: Big game winners
Though the 2-0 loss at Burnley was an obvious slip-up, Liverpool have demonstrated through their victories at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal (4-3) and at Stamford Bridge versus Chelsea (2-1), that they have the big-game composure that is necessary to not only bank a win, but take points off of a title rival.
The 2016-2017 edition of the Premier League could be one of the most competitive and intriguing in the modern era – with Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool all throwing their boots in for an early season run at top spot – but if the Reds continue to take points from their rivals then it will not be long before they storm to pole position.
4: No mid-week football
Liverpool are unencumbered by mid-week football this year thanks to their eighth placed finish in the Premier League table last season.
The importance of no European football cannot be underestimated. It has become a common motif for clubs traveling to the far reaches of the continent on a Wednesday or Thursday, to then suffer from fatigue and drop points by the time they return to their domestic campaigns on the Sunday.
Klopp not only has the benefit of a deep squad, but should be able to keep all of them fitter and fresher for longer.
5: Elite-level individuals
Championship-winning teams are founded on a good defence, true. However, the importance of exceptionally attackers of elite-level flair players is often equally important.
After all, where would Leicester City have finished if it were not for the prolific nature of Jamie Vardy’s net-banging? Or what if there were a multi-month injury to the ever-present wing wizard Riyad Mahrez? It would be safe to assume that Leicester may not have accumulated as many points.
This season, Liverpool have their own game-changers and match-winners in Sadio Mane, for instance, has returned three goals and one assist from six outings while Philippe Coutinho has chipped in with three goals and two assists. Roberto Firmino? Three goals in six. Adam Lallana? Three goals and three assists in seven.
Hell, you know your fortunes must be changing when James Milner has four goals and one assist in six appearances!
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